Visualizing Eli Lilly’s $1.6B push into RNAi and gene therapy through partnerships with SanegeneBio and MeiraGTx.
New collaborations with SanegeneBio and MeiraGTx strengthen Eli Lilly’s genetic medicine pipeline across metabolic and ophthalmic diseases
Eli Lilly and Company has strengthened its genetic medicines strategy through two major partnerships announced within days of each other a global RNAi licensing and research collaboration with SanegeneBio and a gene therapy alliance with MeiraGTx focused ophthalmology. The dual deals reflect Lilly’s expanding commitment to RNA-based and gene-targeted platforms beyond its metabolic blockbuster portfolio.
On November 8, 2025, SanegeneBio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, announced a global research and licensing partnership with Lilly. The collaboration will advance RNAi candidates for metabolic diseases, leveraging SanegeneBio’s proprietary LEAD™ (Ligand and Enhancer Assisted Delivery) platform a tissue-selective delivery system designed for infrequent subcutaneous dosing, potentially just twice per year.
Under the agreement, SanegeneBio will lead discovery and early optimization of RNAi molecules, while Lilly will take responsibility for IND-enabling studies, clinical development, and commercialization.
SanegeneBio will receive an upfront payment and equity investment, along with potential near-term milestones. In total, the company is eligible to receive up to $1.2 billion in discovery, development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on future product sales.
What You Need To Know
- Eli Lilly signs two major genetic medicine deals a $1.2 billion RNAi collaboration with SanegeneBio and a $475 million ophthalmic gene therapy pact with MeiraGTx.
- SanegeneBio’s LEAD™ platform enables tissue-selective, twice-yearly RNAi dosing for metabolic diseases, complementing Lilly’s Dicerna RNAi acquisition.
- The MeiraGTx partnership grants Lilly access to AI-optimized promoters, novel capsids, and riboswitch gene regulation for retinal disorders such as Leber congenital amaurosis 4 (LCA4).
- Together, the alliances strengthen Lilly’s foothold across RNAi, gene therapy, and gene regulation, reinforcing its leadership in next-generation precision medicine.
“Partnering with Lilly represents strong validation of our differentiated LEAD™ delivery platform,” said Weimin Wang, CEO and Founder of SanegeneBio. “We look forward to unlocking novel RNAi-based treatments for metabolic disorders and advancing durable, disease-modifying therapies for patients worldwide.”
The deal marks a continuation of Lilly’s steady investment in genetic and RNA-based therapeutics, following its acquisition of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals in 2021 and subsequent collaborations in RNA editing and delivery technologies. Analysts say the SanegeneBio deal reinforces Lilly’s goal of combining precision delivery and metabolic expertise to expand its reach beyond GLP-1 peptides such as Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Just two days later, on November 10, 2025, MeiraGTx announced a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with Lilly to develop and commercialize genetic medicines in ophthalmology. The deal gives Lilly exclusive worldwide rights to MeiraGTx’s AAV-AIPL1 program a gene therapy targeting Leber congenital amaurosis 4 (LCA4), a rare inherited retinal disease caused by AIPL1 deficiency.
In a clinical trial of 11 children born legally blind, AAV-AIPL1 treatment restored vision in all participants, along with substantial improvements in communication, learning, mood, and social interaction outcomes described by MeiraGTx as “unprecedented.”
Lilly will also gain access to MeiraGTx’s proprietary gene therapy technologies for ophthalmic targets, including novel intravitreal capsids, AI-generated promoters, and riboswitch gene regulation systems that allow oral control of therapeutic protein expression. The riboswitch platform is broadly applicable to gene editing and biologic delivery across metabolic and neurological diseases.
Under the terms, MeiraGTx will receive an upfront payment of $75 million and is eligible for more than $400 million in milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on future product sales.
“We are excited to collaborate with Lilly, a global leader in innovation, to advance transformative genetic therapies for patients with serious eye diseases,” said Dr. Alexandria Forbes, CEO of MeiraGTx. “This partnership highlights the strength of our technology platforms and the speed of our integrated manufacturing capabilities.”
Both deals reinforce Lilly’s broader strategy to diversify its R&D portfolio amid rapid expansion of its metabolic business. The company has been pursuing next-generation genetic therapies capable of modulating disease pathways upstream, complementing its protein-based drugs such as GLP-1 agonists and monoclonal antibodies.
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For SanegeneBio, the partnership provides validation and global reach. Founded in 2021, the company operates R&D centers in Boston, Shanghai, and Suzhou, with an expanding pipeline covering autoimmune nephropathies, obesity, and cardiometabolic diseases. For MeiraGTx, the collaboration accelerates its transformation from a clinical-stage player into a commercial gene therapy partner, backed by five manufacturing facilities and two GMP-licensed viral vector sites.
The partnerships with SanegeneBio and MeiraGTx underscore Lilly’s aggressive entry into next-generation genetic medicine, “With RNAi, riboswitch, and AAV platforms under one umbrella, Lilly is positioning itself as a key competitor to Pfizer and Roche in the genetic therapy race.”
Together, the two alliances could help Lilly bridge the gap between traditional biologics and durable, one-time genetic interventions a shift that mirrors where the biopharma sector is heading.